5 Benefits of Yoga for Men

Although Yoga can be traced back to some 5000 years ago, it is only in more recent times that the practice has become more popular and widespread in the Western world. And while millions of people around the world are firm yoga converts today, a visit to any studio in the west, will show that its popularity is still much more prevalent amongst the fairer sex.

However, while more women are currently hopping on the mats and feeling the benefits of yoga than men, there are actually a wealth of benefits for practising yoga for our male counterparts. Here, The Centre lists five top advantages of yoga for men.

Yoga builds muscle and works out your entire body. Unlike many sports, yoga works out the whole body and we don’t just mean strengthening, toning and building lean muscle mass throughout the body in a safe way. Each yoga practise will also work out the joints and the organs including the heart and the brain and oxygenates the blood giving you energy and clarity. But back to the muscles quickly. Yoga is one of the best ways to build your body’s muscles mass as the Asanas or poses not only focus on strengthening the muscle, but also stretching, releasing tension and lengthening the muscles, meaning more blood flow, less lactic acid build up and generally less soreness and faster muscle recovery and growth.

Yoga helps improve mental clarity. Practising yoga regularly can help to promote concentration and mental clarity, which in turn can help increase your productivity in your daily life. By focusing on the breath and letting the body move in harmony with the breath during the practise, you will learn how to stay more focused, improve memory and reduce your stress levels. Think this all sounds easy? Training the mind can be one of the hardest parts of your yoga practise, but for men who like a real challenge, the stimulation of the brain function can help you make better decisions and have better idea, and improve confidence, creativity and productivity.

Yoga boosts the immune system. In addition to strengthening your body and your mind, yoga has the ability to boost the immune system at a cellular level, making yoga a great remedy for man-flu, digestive issues or any other viruses. In addition to changing the gene expression of the cells to help fight illness, yoga can also strengthen the immune system as a result of overall body strengthening which will also have a positive effect on the internal defence system. Want to be all round stronger, fitter and more able to fight off sickness? Start yoga and feel the benefits almost instantly.

Yoga promotes self-awareness. When it comes to sports (and many other activities) men can be led or motivated by an inherent competitiveness, and a constant awareness of what others are doing around us. Yoga on the other hand promotes introspection. What the other yogis are doing on their mats is not important, and competing or comparing is quickly something that will melt away, only to be replaced by more self-awareness and a general increased happiness as you realise that your ability or worth is not measured by what the person on the mat next to you is capable of.

Yoga can improve your sex life. Last, but most definitely not least, yoga has a positive effect on your libido and can help improve your sex life. Not only does practising regularly make you stronger and more flexible, it also helps to improve body awareness, concentration and being present – all of which can help to improve your action between the sheets. Physically speaking, yoga increases blood flow to the genital area, which in turn can help the male erection, and also speeds up the release of hormones that stimulate arousal. The same can also be said for women, so if you really want to show off your new and improved performance in the bedroom, get your partner to start yoga as well for deeper and longer lasting orgasms all round.

At The Centre, we teach a range of different yoga styles that can all be of benefit to both men and women. Click here to see our weekly schedule and pop in to see how you can start feeling the advantages of yoga today.

The Author

Emma Michael

Shiatsu practitioner / Yoga Instructor

Emma is the founder of The Centre and is passionate about sharing the power that yoga and shiatsu has had on her life.